|
 Libertarian Party of Texas 2006 Platform
PDF Version (33KB)
Adopted in Convention
Houston, Texas
June 11, 2006
PREAMBLE
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a
world in which all individuals are sovereign over
their lives, and no individuals are forced to sacrifice
their values for the benefit of others.
We believe that respect for individual rights is
the essential precondition for a free and prosperous
world, that force and fraud must be eliminated from
human relationships, and that only through freedom
can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently,
we defend each person’s right to engage in any
activity that is peaceful and honest.
The following pages set forth our basic principles
and some of the policies derived from them. Our
goal, however, is nothing more nor less than a world
set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we
take these stands.
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, seek
the maximum protection for the rights of all people
against any violation, be it by other people, other
nations, or our own government.
Every human being is born master of himself or
herself, sole owner of his or her body and mind, free
to live and act as he or she sees fit. It is our
principle that, so long as a person does not violate
the rights of others, he or she should be left free and
unrestrained. Government tends to operate on the
opposite principle, that the State is master and the
individual the servant, to act only as directed by
those in power.
We deny the right of any government to coerce
peaceful citizens. Governments exist for the sole
purpose of defending the freedoms of their citizens.
These freedoms include the right to life; the right to
liberty of thought, speech and action; and the right
to property. When government violates these
freedoms--by initiating force against them, by
prohibiting the act and means of self-defense, by
censoring thought, word and deed, or by taking
property without the consent of the owner--the
government must be brought to heel.
Government is, essentially, raw concentrated
force, and thus prone to abuse. It is established and
tolerated only as the agent and servant of the
people- not their master. The force of government
must be used only in response to an attack, fraud, or
other initiation of force against an individual, group
or government by another individual, group or
government.
Governments have no business interfering in
voluntary and contractual relations among
individuals. Only to prevent or to rectify acts of
fraud should government step in--never for
purposes of redistributing wealth or providing
special privilege to a few. Under no circumstances
should government be allowed to prefer one set of
people or handicap another, for whatever reason.
All people should be equal under the law, free to
deal with one another in a free market, the only
system compatible with the principle of individual
rights.
The power of government must be kept to the
minimum necessary to protect the rights of its
citizens, and no more. Granting more power than
that minimum allows the corrupt, the ambitious, and
the tyrannical to run roughshod over the rights of
the citizen. It is our mission to contest this trend, to
stop its expansion and to reverse it, working
towards the ideal society envisioned by the
Founders and enshrined in the Constitution of the
United States.
1. EMINENT DOMAIN
Libertarians would close the exceptions and
loopholes in the state prohibition against the
use of eminent domain for private economic
development. Under no circumstances should
government have the power to force the
transfer of land from private entity to another
against the will of the owner. Additionally, we
believe that property owners displaced
through eminent domain should be
compensated 125% of the fair value of their
property to compensate for their moving
expenses and inconvenience.
2. GUN OWNERSHIP
Libertarians advocate the legalization of
"open carry" firearms, including handguns,
without a license. This includes recognition of
the right of gun owners to bear arms while
driving.
3. TOLL ROADS
Libertarians oppose the Trans Texas Corridor
Act, a costly boondoggle intended to benefit
land developers through the abuse of eminent
domain and the power of highway monopoly.
Further, we support legislation that would
forbid tolls on any highway right of way
which was obtained with tax dollars or
through the use of eminent domain or
condemnation.
Libertarians uphold the right of private
enterprise to construct and operate private toll
roads, provided that those private toll roads
were not established by coercive government
power.
4. GOVERNMENT SPENDING
Libertarians support balancing the budgets at
all levels of government within the state
without increasing net taxation. We support a
moratorium on bond issues and all other forms
of borrowing money, giving top priority to the
repayment of government debts. Once
government debt and wasteful spending are
eliminated, the savings must be returned to the
people of Texas in lower taxes.
5. EDUCATION
Libertarians seek to abolish the Federal
Department of Education and repeal all
unconstitutional federal mandates on state-run
public education.
Libertarians seek to challenge in the courts the
federal government’s authority to regulate in
any way the operation of state-run public
schools.
Libertarians would establish a true
competitive market in education by repealing
all restrictions on transfer from one public
school to another or between public and
private schools. Further, we would repeal all
laws which interfere with the right of parents
to home school their children. To achieve this,
we would repeal all compulsory attendance
laws. The public school system, originally
established as the school of last resort, should
not enjoy a monopoly on the education of
Texas children.
6. GAMBLING
Libertarians would legalize casino and other
types of gambling. Libertarians recognize that
fraud in gambling is just the same as any other
form of fraud. Libertarians therefore seek to
ensure that those who operate crooked games,
including public officials, are prosecuted to
the fullest extent of the law.
7. JUDICIAL REFORM (Informed Jury)
Libertarians support judicial reform allowing
juries not only to judge the case, but the
validity of the law itself. All juries should
likewise be informed of their rights to
interpret the law and vote their conscience
before deliberations in criminal and civil
cases.
8. POLICE POWERS
Libertarians support legislation or judicial
rules that forbid the execution of “no-knock”
warrants unless there is probable cause that
they are necessary to avoid death or serious
injury to an innocent person. We require that
all warrants be presented to the subject for
examination, with an original signature and a
copy of the affidavit attached, and that the
subject have an opportunity to contact the
court that issued the warrant to verify its
validity.
9. IMMIGRATION AND BORDERS
Immigration is among the most contentious
issues facing America today, and the specters
of terrorism and war have only added fuel to
an already fiery debate.
By any reasonable measure, properly regulated
immigration is not just beneficial to
the American economy but indispensable to
the goal of a nation of freedom and
opportunity. This nation was built on
immigration. Allowing peaceful people to
enter our country appropriately is not just an
option. It’s a benchmark by which we measure
whether or not we’re living up to the
American ideal. Coupled with a benign
foreign policy, it is what makes America the
beacon of Liberty in what was once and would
be again an otherwise dark world for most
people.
Peaceful immigrants should be allowed to
enter the US at conveniently located Customs
and Immigration stations, subject only to brief
vetting to ensure that they are not terrorists or
criminals, and reasonable consideration of the
nation’s ability to assimilate them.
Coupled with reasonable immigration for the
peaceful, we must maintain a vigorous
national defense against our enemies.
Terrorists and criminals who attempt to enter
the US via a Customs and Immigration station
should be denied entry and, where applicable,
arrested and detained or extradited.
Terrorists and criminals who attempt to enter
the US via other points along its 95,000 miles
of border and coastline should be treated as
what they are: invaders against whom we
must respond. As long as our defense forces
restrain themselves to reasonable rules of
engagement, doing this will much better
guarantee our security with little risk of dire
consequences to occasional innocent refugees.
The privilege of entering the United States is
not the right to invade the United States in
contest with its legitimate interest in securing
itself against those who would do it harm. It
doesn’t matter whether the invasion is in the
form of an organized military unit or a
privately-executed mass movement assisted
by a foreign government.
We should not have to worry about foreign
nationals moving in just so they can eat out
our substance on the dole. Still, the possibility
of “safety net” abuse is not a good excuse for
excluding immigrants. The so-called safety
net is not a solution for the plight of poor
immigrants. It is, for immigrants as much as
for native-born citizens, an insidious
enticement to laziness. Real immigrants don’t
want welfare, and private charities could
handle their occasional start-up needs.
|
